Page 83 of Guarded Hearts

He looked around for a cloth to stop the flow, but she was already throwing her legs over the side of the bed.

She swayed on her feet, and he picked her up, cradling her against his chest and running for the stairs.

“He’s going to kill you, Carson!”

“My brothers have it under control. Don’t worry, doll. I’ve got you. And I’m never letting you go.”

Chapter Twenty

Layne set aside her hairbrush, her gaze glued to her reflection in the mirror. To the stitches on her face.

She listened for Carson in the adjoining bedroom. When she heard him moving around, she walked over to the cracked door and quietly pushed it shut another few inches.

Each time he caught her examining the fresh row of stitches on her face, he got upset. He tried to distract her from looking at it for too long, telling her it would heal and then practically dragging her away from the mirror.

But the injury was part of her now. Sure, it would heal. So would her wounded psyche. She knew that shoving it down, masking it with a pretty smile, wasn’t going to help her.

Only a week had passed, but she was determined to deal with the aftermath as soon as possible. She had wasted enough of her life believing things that weren’t right at all.

Leaning close to the mirror, she examined the row of neat stitches. The edges of the wound were still red and raised, but they were healing fast. Soon her appearance would be back to normal. She was going to make sure her inside matched.

Brushing her fingers alongside the gash, she shifted her stare to her own eyes and jolted when she saw Carson standing behind her.

In the mirror, his stare met hers. The tension around his hard lips made her pivot to face him.

He brought his hands down on the vanity behind her, trapping her between the marble and his chiseled body.

She slipped her hands up to cup his jaw. “It really bothers you, doesn’t it?”

He issued a low noise. “Doll, you are beautiful. And you will heal.”

“I don’t mean how I look. You really don’t want me to think about it, do you?”

He took her by the hand and drew her out of the bathroom to the bed they’d shared since he brought her to his home. Once she sank to the edge, he dragged her down. Lying on their sides, facing each other, his gaze roamed over her face. The gray depths burned with love.

“I’ve seen what happens when a person is taken against their will, Layne. I’ve lived it.” His quiet tone sent ripples down her spine.

“I know you’ve seen and done a lot more than I have. I can’t even imagine what you’ve gone through. What your brothers have gone through.”

“This isn’t a competition, doll. I just know how difficult it can be to move past something like you survived. I want you to know there are good counselors here—great ones, actually. You have your pick. Your care will take priority.”

She shook her head, stunned by the gesture but also against it. “I will speak to somebody, I promise. But I won’t edge out a veteran in the Black Heart program to do it.”

He brushed his lips across her forehead in a tender gesture that sent sparks of warmth into her heart.

“Carson. There’s something else I want.”

He leaned away. “Anything. Name it.”

“I want to go to Golden Horizon.”

He studied her. “You’re sure?”

“Yes. It’s safe now. And the ranch is my home—well, technically my second home. But you know that Wyoming has always been where I feel most at ease. Most like myself.”

She couldn’t interpret his expression, but she saw some strong emotion in it.

“Will you take me back today?”

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